Settling in...

The view from our flat.

Josh and I have settled in a bit at our temporary flat.  Our flat is located near Tower Hill and the business district.  We have a great view of the Gerkin, an office building that is shaped like a pickle.  When we arrived in London on Friday morning, we took a cab to our flat...not realizing that we weren't able to get in until 3:00 that afternoon.  We had about 4 hours to kill!  After stowing most of our luggage away with the maintenance man, we headed out to find somewhere with some food and some free wifi.  We ate at a chain called something like "The slug and lettuce"...doesn't sound very appetizing does it?  I'm not sure I want to think about a slimy wormy insect (is it an insect?) while I eat.  The food was fine luckily, and no slugs anywhere to be seen!  I wonder if slug means something else here in England?  Hmmm...

The walk-in-closet sized Kitchen, complete with a washer/dryer combo.

After lunch we wandered around and stumbled upon Petticoat Lane, which historically is where petticoats and lace were sold a few hundred years ago.  These days it is a huge discount clothing market, although you can find many other things there as well.  Definitely somewhere I will be checking out again on my own while Josh is at work!

A queen sized bed!  So thankful it wasn't a double, which seems pretty common.

 Blessedly, we finally got into our flat.  After a nice long hot shower and a good teeth brushing (it had been 24 hours!) we did what any new Londoners would do...we napped!  Ha ha!

Our flat is...okay.  There are a few things about British flats that I have noticed that I think are strange.  Josh thinks the British "like to make things difficult".  I think I agree...

*outlets have to be turned on with a switch before they can be used (each has an individual switch)
*each separate room has a door that automatically shuts...so every time you enter or leave a room you have to open a door
*toilets are wimpy...multiple flushes are common
*can only plug shavers into bathroom outlets...I don't understand why...
*most light switches are on the outside of the room
* Two faucets in one sink (one is hot, one is cold and you have to cup your hands under the cold then move it over to the hot to get warm water)

The living room/office/dining room.

 We have decided we really don't want to be in this flat for two months, so it is my job on Monday to start flat hunting.  Good thing I just got a phone!  Its a smart phone, with a data plan!  I'm really moving up in the world! (I'm serious here, I've had an old school phone FOREVER)  In an added bonus, calls to the US are only 5 pence per minute...woohoo!

So, as you can see, Josh and I managed to get me a phone today.  We had big plans of getting a lot more done, but we got off to a bad start.  First we slept in late, trying to catch up from not sleeping on our flight over.  I spent the morning on the google maps making a walking route to each business we wanted to visit today...cell phone, art store, kitchen store & barber.  We start out full of confidence, get to our first destination and...CLOSED!  What???  How can a cell phone store be closed on a Saturday?  We go to our next destination...CLOSED!  What???  I'm so confused...Apart from Starbucks and Subway (two American based stores BTW) nothing is open in our area.  Everything apparently shuts down for the weekend since the majority of shoppers are the business people who work in this district during the week.  After regrouping at our flat, we made our way to Oxford Circus and found lots of shops and lots of people.  Josh and I tried our first "real" Belgium waffle...so yummy.  It was a very Christmas-y atmosphere with lights and carolers around.  Only 13 shopping days left!  Cheers!

The weird bathroom with soft floors and double faucets.